What if a person recovering from a stroke could regain movement with the help of a device that responds to signals from their brain? Or someone living with Parkinson’s disease could receive treatment that automatically adapts as their symptoms change? These are some of the possibilities highlighted in a new paper published in Science Advances.

The research was led by Dr Amparo Güemes at the University of Cambridge, who was supported through a Royal Academy of Engineering Research Fellowship co-funded by Rosetrees in 2024. Working with 20 early-career researchers from across the UK, Dr Güemes helped develop a roadmap for the future of neurotechnology and how these innovations can move from the laboratory into everyday healthcare.

Neurotechnology combines engineering, medicine and neuroscience to develop devices that can monitor, interpret or influence signals in the nervous system. These technologies are already being used to help people with conditions such as Parkinson’s disease, epilepsy and chronic pain. In the future, they could support people recovering from stroke, living with paralysis, or managing other chronic conditions.

A major focus of the paper is the development of “closed-loop” systems. Much like a pacemaker responds to changes in the heart’s activity, these systems continuously monitor signals from the body and automatically adjust treatment as needed. By tailoring treatment in real time, they could improve outcomes while minimising side effects.

However, the paper highlights several trade-offs that must be addressed before these technologies can become widely available. Researchers must balance the performance of new materials with their long-term stability, while ensuring that innovative devices can be manufactured at scale. They must also balance increasingly detailed and complex systems with the need for technologies to operate in real time, adapt to different situations and remain practical for clinical use.

There are also important ethical and practical challenges. Devices need to be reliable, affordable and suitable for long-term use, while the highly sensitive information they collect about our brains and bodies must be protected. Patients need to understand how these technologies work and how their data may be used, with long-term support available for those who rely on implanted devices. The paper also emphasises involving patients from the earliest stages of development to ensure new technologies meet real-world needs and improve quality of life.

Ultimately, the paper argues that progress will depend on collaboration. As Güemes explains, “Neurotechnology is inherently interdisciplinary. No single field has all the expertise needed to solve the challenges ahead.” Engineers may develop new devices and algorithms, but successful healthcare technologies also require clinical insight, biological understanding, regulatory expertise, manufacturing capability and patient engagement. Bringing these perspectives together will be essential to turning promising innovations into technologies that can transform healthcare and improve lives.

Click this link to read the full paper: From trade-offs to translation: An interdisciplinary roadmap for neurotechnology | Science Advances